Thursday, April 30, 2009

Duke Performances Summer Series Highlights Local and World-Class Chamber Music

and Indie-Rock

The best of chamber music and North Carolina raised independent rock-n-roll will be presented this summer in Duke Performances’ 2009 summer series, Music in the Gardens: Listening Locally.With performances staged at DukeGardens, the summer series is becoming a popular summer tradition with concerts that focus on the best forward-thinking art from the state.The season begins Wednesday, May 20, and runs every Wednesday from May 20 through July 29.Concerts begin at 7 p.m.

North Carolina’s rich tradition of exceptional independent rock is represented this summer with a mix of music scene perennials and up-and-coming artists making waves with the national press.

Three solo artists—two appearing with back-up bands—are featured this summer. The essential Eric Bachmann takes the stage with just his guitar to deliver songs, according to No Depression, sounding like “a troubadour telling tales of isolation and loneliness by a campfire.”

Eric Bachmann

Thad Cockrell, a musician in the old-school country tradition, leads his band through songs that map the uneasy territory between belief and seduction.

The Dex Romweber Duo—led by the front-man for the late, great surf-rockabilly band Flat Duo Jets—will bring his “psycho-surf-rockabilly-garage-punk” to the Gardens.In his new band, Romweber is joined by his sister Sara on drums to create tunes that spark and kick with full-throated rock-n-roll attitude.

Dex Romweber Duo

Duke Performances also features several up-and-coming local bands that are already receiving national attention: Megafaun is a Raleigh-based trio whose sprawling mix of folk, pop, and electronics spreads out like wisteria in the springtime, while The Love Language makes tunes about heartbreak that rattle with youthful abandon.

Megafaun

The Love Language

Raleigh’s The Rosebuds present a modern-take on catchy, pop-edged rock that, according to Pitchfork, exudes quality.The pioneering godfathers of jangle-pop—Chris Stamey and Peter Holsapple—will close out the summer series with work from their latest project.

Holsapple & Stamey

The Rosebuds

Also this summer, Duke’s own Ciompi Quartet, performing twice during the series, will be joined for an evening by EmoryUniversity’s resident quartet the Vega String Quartet in the Nelson Music Room.The Vega Quartet is one of the U.S.’s best young chamber ensembles. The New York Times calls the quartet an “excellent ensemble" with "crisp, clear precision.”Together, the Ciompi and Vega quartets will perform a program of work by Haydn and Mendelssohn and present the world premiere of a new work by composer John Anthony Lennon.

The Vega String Quartet

Durham based and nationally praised, the Mallarme Chamber Players join up with the Brussels Chamber Orchestra to present an evening of music that includes Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings in E major.

Brussels Chamber Orchestra

The concerts begin May 20, end July 29, and run on Wednesdays in between.General admission is $10, Duke employee tickets are $5, and Duke students and children 12 and under get in for free.Each venue is handicap accessible.Parking at DukeGardens is free after 5 p.m.Food and drink will be permitted at the outdoor venues.

Beverages, including beer and wine, will be available for purchase at the concerts.Performances will take place rain or shine.Outdoor concerts are held on the lawn behind the Doris Duke Center at DukeGardens.

Support for Music in the Gardens is provided by Duke Summer Session, Duke Continuing Studies, and SarahP. DukeGardens.

We have two different types of peonies in the Gardens. In bloom for the last three weeks have been the tree peonies (a bit of a misnomer, they are really shrubs) and herbaceous peonies (pictured above), everybody’s favorite. They are just starting to bloom, but with the 80 degree weather we’ve had recently, they may not last long.

Featured from early Chinese history to the present, the peony has often been called “the queen of herbs.” Yet it was prized not just for the beauty and fragrance of the flowers but for its many medicinal uses. It has proven antiviral and bacteriostatic properties. And because the leaves are bitter, deer generally don’t go beyond the first bite.

Herbaceous peonies have been a standard in the garden throughout much of the United States because they are a very cold-tolerant, drought-hardy perennial.

They are a feast to the senses in any garden.You can enjoy them for the next week or so in our Historic Terrace Gardens.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Just 15 minutes left to go. And it's been a banner year, attendance-wise. Gardens across the Triangle and beyond are going to be looking radiant with all the new plants that have made their way out of here today.

Here's a taste of how the day went.

The lineup started at 8 a.m. and grew rapidly.

Judy Lester and Patricia Becker were the first to arrive. Here's what they got.

Rossy Garcia bought two new orchids that the Orchid Society helped her pick out. She plans to attend Orchid Society meetings to learn more about how to keep these precious flowers thriving.

Vendor Art Knowles sits in what he calls the most comfortable cedar chair ever. You can see Knowles' wood inlay jewelry at http://www.artwood.etsy.com.

Another Art Knowles creation -- a new twist on the Green Man garden motif.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Volunteers are a major part of keeping the nonprofit Sarah P. Duke Gardens functioning well and looking fabulous.

We'll write more about volunteering in a later post. But if you're interested in joining our volunteer family, call Director of Volunteers Chuck Hemric at 668-1705 or e-mail him at chuck.hemric@duke.edu.

Below are some devoted volunteers helping staff members prepare for Saturday's festival. The sale is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Please see earlier posts for more previews.

Rick Fisher and Richard Gross.

Marcella Gross, Richard's wife.

Boyd Strain, labeling plants.

Christine Hodder, left, with horticulturist Jason Holmes and others.

Chuck Hemric, bringing levity to the afternoon.

Rick again. He also shoots fantastic photos for the Gardens.

Jan Little, our new Director of Education and Public Programs.

Richard and Jan in a sea of plants, waiting for *you* to bring them home to your gardens (the plants, that is).

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